“The apostles returned to Jesus and reported to him everything they had done and taught.” As well as reporting to him what they themselves had done and taught, they told him what had befallen John the Baptist while they were teaching. And he said to them: “Come away to some place where you can be alone by yourselves and rest awhile.”
The following words show what real need there was to give the disciples some rest: “For many were coming and going and they had no time even to eat.” The great happiness of those days can be seen from the hard work of those who taught and the enthusiasm of those who learned.
If only in our time such a concourse of faithful listeners would
again press round the ministers of the word, not allowing them time
to attend to their physical needs!
For those denied the time needed to look after their bodies will
have still less opportunity to heed the soul’s or the
body’s temptations.
“And they got into the boat and went away by themselves to a deserted spot.” The disciples did not get into the boat alone, but took the Lord with them, as the evangelist Matthew makes clear.
“Many people saw them set out and recognized them, and from all the towns they hastened to the place on foot and reached it before them.” The fact that people on foot are said to have reached the place first shows that the disciples did not go with our Lord to the opposite bank of the sea or the Jordan, but crossed some stream or inlet to reach a nearby spot in the same region, within walking distance for the local people.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. (Gospel)
Matthew relates more fully how he took pity on them. He says:
“And he took pity on them and cured their sick.” This is
what it means really to take pity on the poor, and on those who have
no one to guide them: to open the way of truth to them by teaching,
to heal their physical infirmities, and to make them want to praise
the divine generosity by feeding them when they are hungry as Jesus
did according to the following verses.
Jesus tested the crowd’s faith, and having done so he gave it
a fitting reward. He sought out a lonely place to see if they would
take the trouble to follow him.
For their part, they showed how concerned they were for their
salvation by the effort they made in going along the deserted road
not on donkeys or in carts of various kinds, but on foot.
In return Jesus welcomed those weary, ignorant, sick, and hungry
people, instructing, healing, and feeding them as a kindly savior
and physician, and so letting them know how pleased he is by
believers’ devotion to him
Commentary on Mark’s Gospel: CCL 120, 510-11)
Bede (c. 673-735), who received the title of
Venerable less than a century after his death, was placed at the
age of seven in the monastery of Wearmouth, then ruled by Saint
Beret Biscop. From there he was sent to Jarrow, probably at the
time of it s foundation in about 681. At the age of thirty he was
ordained priest.
His whole life was devoted to the study of Scripture, to teaching,
writing, and the prayer of the Divine Office. He was famous for
his learning, although he never went beyond the bounds of his
native Northumbria. Bede is best known for his historical works,
which earned him the title “Father of English
History.”
His Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Angloruni is a primary
source for early English history, especially valuable because of
the care he took to give his authorities, and to separate
historical fact from hearsay and tradition. In 1899 Bede was
proclaimed a doctor of the Church.
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Journey with the Fathers
Commentaries on the Sunday Gospels
- Year B, pp. 94-95.
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